SANTA FE — The Santa Fe Animal Shelter is urging the community to come forward and adopt dogs involved in the alleged hoarding case in Edgewood — the so-called Edgewood 48.
The 33 dogs released May 15 to the custody of the shelter are among the 48 seized in April at an Edgewood home. The owner relinquished her rights to the majority of the dogs last Monday. She agreed to pay for the upkeep and care of 10 of the dogs until the court case is resolved. She faces charges of animal cruelty.
“We know many of you have asked when and if these dogs would be available for adoption,” said Mary Martin, the shelter’s executive director. “Many of these kiddos will be available within 48 hours, and we urge anyone who has room in their heart and home for a dog that may need a little extra TLC to come meet them.”
The county transferred ownership of the remaining 33 dogs to the shelter late Wednesday. Some of the dogs are puppies and will require very little from new families aside from regular training and love. Others are timid at first, under-socialized or fearful and will require patience and training.
Santa Fe Tails Dog Academy and Dogcare will be offering some of the dogs care and socialization to improve their adoptability and to help ease the shelter’s space crunch.
Emily Burlingame, the shelter’s behavior and training team leader, who has worked with all of the dogs in the case, said the dogs are really coming around considering their circumstances. She said the vast majority of the heeler mixes will make loving family pets once they adjust to their new lives.
The dogs will be available after their spay and neuter surgeries. To encourage adoptions, the shelter will be offering a special adoption fee of $48 for the adult dogs involved in the case. Puppies three-months-old and younger are available at the regular adoption fee of $156.
The 41 puppies born at the shelter from the six pregnant dogs in the case are the property of the shelter and will be available once they are weaned, spayed and neutered.
For more information about adoptions, call the shelter’s adoption desk at 983-4309, ext. 610, or check the shelter’s Facebook page, facebook.com/sfhumanesociety, for current photos of the adoptable dogs.